Serving Those Who Serve Our Country
“It’s the least I can do for those who are making the sacrifice.”
Denise Price-Giesbers ’00 has never served in the U.S. Armed Forces but she gives significant time and energy to those who do, both in her role as Pacific University’s director of transfer, military, and veteran student outreach and within the community.
Last fall, Price-Giesbers was recognized for her dedication to active-duty soldiers and veterans with a pair of distinguished honors. In September, the American Legion presented Price-Giesbers a commendation for her role in organizing a send-off celebration and mobilization ceremony for the Oregon Army National Guard’s 218th Field Artillery Regiment, which took place in August on Pacific’s Forest Grove Campus.
In December, upon recommendation by the 218th Field Artillery’s command officers, the U.S. Field Artillery Association presented Price-Giesbers with the Artillery Order of Molly Pitcher, honoring individuals “who have voluntarily contributed in significant and meaningful ways to the improvement of the field artillery community.”
It’s a pair of distinctions that leaves the normally talkative Price-Giesbers speechless.
“I was literally in shock,” Price-Giesbers said. “For somebody else to recognize you and say, ‘We really appreciate you and what you do, and your contributions and vision have made such a huge difference’ is really humbling.”
A member of Pacific’s student life staff for 25 years, Price-Giesbers has always had a passion for veterans and helping them get the resources they need. Price-Giesbers has served students who are military service members and veterans since 2000 and more directly since 2017 with the creation of Pacific’s Military & Veterans Services Office.
In overseeing the office, she has helped the university adopt a holistic approach to make the office more inclusive of active-duty soldiers, reservists and veterans, as well as both undergraduate and graduate students. The office’s services include assistance with navigating the red tape of the GI Bill, assistance with identifying military-specific health and educational services, employment assistance and more.
The office also maintains a lounge within the Student Life offices in Clark Hall, providing a space to relax, study, or just talk in a safe space.
Providing space and resources allows Pacific to help veterans navigate the challenges of reintegrating into civilian and educational life that are unique to those who have served. Price-Giesbers notes that of the veterans who are enrolled in undergraduate classes at Pacific, approximately 98% of them are transfer students.
“It’s a bit different than the typical transfer student,” said Price-Giesbers, who herself was a transfer when she arrived at Pacific as a student in 1996. “Typically they are older. If they are career military, many of them have families. Many of them have a Veterans’ Administration disability rating.”
Equally as important for Price-Giesbers is creating a safe space for sharing stories and experiences that are best understood only by those who have served. “The complexity is that until (veterans) trust you and know that you can understand without judgment what they’ve seen, what they’ve done and what they know, they’re not going to open up,” she said. “And I’ve been able somehow to gain that trust and understanding.”
Pacific’s work to make military members and veterans feel welcome on its campuses has earned the recognition of several organizations. The website MilitarySupportiveColleges.com named Pacific as one of the most supportive colleges of military members and, in 2022, recognized Pacific as the best school for veterans in the West Region as part of its Yellow Ribbon Program Select Schools program.
In 2024, President Jenny Coyle ’90, OD ’93, MS ’00 reaffirmed its commitment to the U.S. Department of Education’s “Eight Keys To Veterans’ Success” to help veterans and service members transitioning into higher education. The agreement was originally signed by former President Lesley Hallick in 2011.
Pacific became better known within the military community after the send-off and mobilization events for the Oregon Army National Guard’s 218th Field Artillery Regiment, based in Forest Grove. While Price-Giesbers initially intended to be part of the community committee organizing the send-off event, she found herself not only as chair of the committee but acting as the liaison between the university and the National Guard for the mobilization ceremony.
The send-off event, held on Aug. 9, provided deploying soldiers and their families the opportunity to enjoy time together in a street festival atmosphere prior to that afternoon’s mobilization ceremony held in the Stoller Center. The regiment left the next day for a one-year deployment to the Middle East.
Major Dwayne Dehlbom, an operations manager for the 218th Field Artillery’s rear detachment, nominated Price-Giesbers for the Artillery Order of Molly Pitcher. He said that in his 20 years in the military, he had never seen a community member who did not have a direct attachment to a unit member as dedicated as Price-Giesbers is.
“With everything we had going on, Denise just stepped up above and beyond anything that we had ever seen,” Dehlbom said. “We were completing a training mission and also preparing for a deployment. She was just fantastic. She took care of so much for us. To help us take care of the families like she did was a great burden off of our command.
The integration of the send-off event was a first for the Oregon National Guard and the execution of the event is now being used as a blueprint for similar events not only in Oregon but nationwide.
“I honestly don’t know how it all happened,” Dehlbom said. “It seemed so organic with everything else we had going on. With her ability to be a focal point of that team, Denise demonstrated an exceptional way of being a servant leader.”
Price-Giesbers is quick to deflect credit for the success of the send-off event to the committee of community volunteers, who rallied to make the day special. “I may have been the one that was making sure that all of those things happened, but it was a team effort,” she said. “We had 100 volunteers that came out that day. I feel very honored that I’ve received these awards and commendations, but it’s not all about me.”
It is all part of Price-Giesbers’ mission to ensure that members of the military community can fund their purpose at Pacific.
"We want people to see Pacific as a place that is embracing of our military and veterans," she said. "Forest Grove is embracing our military and veterans, and we are actively pursuing opportunities to become engaged."